Joshua v Klitschko – Round Group BettingGroup of Rounds Odds.

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Joshua v Klitschko – Will It Go Distance?Will Fight Go The Distance?

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Types of Boxing Odds & Betting options

Boxing betting has resulted in large sums of money changing hands for centuries. Even the most highly civilized ancient societies have, it seems, always enjoyed watching a really good fight and staking a bit of money on the odds.

In more recent times, it is no coincidence that prize fights very often took place in gambling dens. Boxing and gambling have always been inextricably linked and fortunately the wonders of technology mean that we can now reap the benefits of playing the boxing odds in the more salubrious environs of our homes.

Betting options

There are always three basic outcomes to bet on in boxing: Boxer A winning, Boxer B winning and the fight ending in a draw. Draws are extremely rare and they are consequently offered at odds of approximately 33-1 in a conventional contest.

For some reason there seem to be relatively few evenly matched fights in boxing. That means you should expect to find a high frequency of short priced favourites in boxing betting. If you are put off by the idea of having to wager large sums for relatively small potential profits, you can always try one of the other options:

Round betting: Any boxing match can end at any time if a boxer is knocked out or receives such serious injuries that the referee chooses to end the fight. Bookmakers will consequently often offer markets on the number of rounds that they think the fight will last. If your preferred contestant has a proven record for knocking out his opponents in the early rounds you can put your money on the fight ending in relatively few rounds. At least it should be a significantly longer price in the boxing betting than that offered for your boxer to win the fight.

Type of victory betting: Another way to improve your profit margins betting on boxing is to bet on the method of victory. The majority of fights are decided on points rather than ended prematurely. If you are confident that a fight will end with a knockout but are not sure when it is likely to occur, this is probably the best wager for you. One word of warning here. Your man may have a great record but it is worth checking whether his opponent has ever been knocked out. Some boxers are pretty hopeless but so skilled at defending themselves or thick skulled that they always manage to go the full distance.

Whichever type of bet you choose, you can be confident that yours is not the only money being ventured on those boxing odds. Massive sums are wagered online in high profile contests, especially if it is a World Boxing Association (WBA) championship fight. The figures wagered increase substantially if the fight involves a contender from the UK.

In November 2009, the World Heavyweight title fight between the then WBA champion, the colossal Russian, Nikolay Valuev and Englishman David Haye attracted leviathan levels of boxing betting activity. It was a dramatic pairing that was the dream of fight promoters and made substantial pay to view profits for the company that had purchased exclusive TV coverage rights.

Valuev had facial features that would not have seemed out of place in a horror film. He also measured in at the monster height of 7 foot 2 inches tall. In the pre-fight publicity shots he towered over Haye like a human gargoyle. The braided head of the Englishman seemed barely to reach his shoulder. Valuev also weighed in at 22 stone 7 pounds, seven stone heavier than his opponent.

Both men went into the fight with an excellent track record. Each had suffered only one defeat but the 29-year-old Haye had previously been fighting at cruiserweight. His only defeat came when he was knocked out by Carl Thompson, the one time British Cruiserweight Champion. In all his 22 victories Haye was only once forced to fight all twelve rounds, gaining himself the nickname of Hayemaker.

In contrast, Valuev had been exchanging blows with the heaviest hitters for some time, winning 34 of his 50 victories without having to go the full course. Unlike Haye, he had gone the full distance enough times for his stamina to be established.

Valuev might have been the champion WBA heavyweight at the time thanks to his defeat of a rather elderly Evander Holyfield (his victory on points was the subject of considerable dispute) but size and world champion status is obviously is not everything when it comes to boxing betting.

The bookies made Haye the 4/7 favourite, not exactly a nailed-on cert in boxing betting terms and offered prices in the region of 13/8 for Valuev. Yes, Haye was the superior technician and Valuev had not beaten anyone especially impressive but you could not help thinking that Haye was not, thinking analytically rather than patriotically, a particularly good value bet.

How much harder it is to hit a man a twelve inches taller than you with a reach eight inches longer than yours. Haye was hoping to knock out the human equivalent of the Empire State Building and he was hitting uphill.

After the fight, Haye mentioned that hitting Valuev was a bit like hitting a brick wall. He injured his hand trying to do so in the second round. The fight was a bit of an anti-climax for those who paid to view it. Haye admitted that he had to take it easy after sustaining his injury. His performance was so unconvincing that he drifted to 2/1 in play in the boxing betting by the later rounds. A final flurry in the last round probably helped him to clinch the contest on points.

The punters who bet on a knockout victory or the fight ending prematurely were disappointed but the vast majority, including the big gamblers who bet on Haye to win, were relieved and happy to be pocketing their profits after the fight.

A year later, when Haye took on fellow Brit, Audley Harrison, it was business as usual in the boxing betting with Haye being offered at 1/7 to win the fight. It did not appear to be an evenly matched fight and Haye promptly dispatched Harrison in the third round.

This time it was the punters who bet on a premature end to the fight who were happiest. They benefited from much more generous prices than the people who were simply betting on Haye to win.

The Haye story tells us that there is definitely money to be made with the bookies’ boxing odds, you just cannot be sure where most of it will come from.